LIRA
It started with small things.
A cup of warm honeyed tea left on my table in the morning.
A fresh set of riding gloves when mine wore thin.
A silent presence beside me when I wandered the snowy paths around the fortress.
Caius never said a word about it. Never pushed.
But I felt him.
The bond between us was a steady thrum in my veins. I knew he was near before I even saw him. My wolf—silent, waiting—stirred whenever he entered the room.
And every time I looked at him, I hated that I was starting to see him differently.
He wasn’t just the Alpha who kidnapped me anymore.
He was the man who made sure I had warm tea every morning, who thought of me when I didn’t even ask for it.
He was the man who stepped between me and his warriors when they stared too long, their eyes lingering in ways that made me feel uncomfortable, like they were measuring my worth or my strength.
He was the man who never forced me to accept something I wasn’t ready for, who respected the space I needed even when
